Gelphie Ever After
by evilregal07
Summary: This is more bookverse than musical, but musical references will likely sneak in. What would have happened if Elphaba hadn't gone crazy after Fiyero's murder and went to Glinda instead of the mauntery? Also, please note the title may change. I stink at titles.
1. Chapter 1 - Reunion

Gelphie - Ever After (?)

Prologue

Elphaba Thropp has failed her mission. Madame Morrible is not dead, but someone is. The wrong one is. Fiyero was an innocent in all of this. He was never meant to be involved. She curses herself for having involved him. She knew better. This is exactly why she had left Glinda in the Emerald City five years ago. No one was supposed to get hurt, not anyone she loved anyway, and especially not because of her.

But then, Fiyero had never really given her a choice. He was nothing if not persistent. She had asked him to go away, hadn't she? She told him he was mistaken. Who was she kidding? Even in the EC, where all kinds of people flocked, she is the only green person. Now here she is, wracked with guilt and overly emotional about it because she is with child. His child.

Elphaba is not stupid. She knows that they are on to her. Why else would Fiyero have been murdered, and so brutally? She is not safe here. Their child will not be safe here. She thinks about that for a long while. Safety. Where will they be safe? Is there anywhere? When was the last time she had felt safe? When she answers that question, she knows exactly where to go.

Chapter 1: Reunion

It didn't take long to find the place. All she had done was walk into the gaudiest dress shop in the EC and enquire about Lady Chuffrey and where exactly her purchases were usually sent. The clerk had given her an incredulous look, as if to say that everyone should know that the Lady and Lord Chuffrey reside in Mennipin Square. As she looks around the neighborhood she supposes she should have guessed. _This is probably the wealthiest area of the entire city_.

She stares at the townhouse at the end of the street. _Of course she would have married the man with the largest house._ She frowns at that thought and forces herself not to think about why. She steels herself and swiftly approaches the front door of the house. She stretches out her hand and gently knocks on the door, before stepping back into the shadows. Despite the late hour, she is almost immediately greeted by a tall, thin man.

"Good evening, Miss. It's a bit late to come calling, but how may I be of service to you?" he smiles despite the hint of irritation in his voice.

"I'm here to see Lady Glinda... if I may?" She can't help the amount of uncertainty her voice gives away. _Will she even want to see me?_

"I'm afraid my Lady has already retired for the evening, Miss. I'll have to ask you to return tomorrow." He makes to close the door, but she reaches out an arm to still it.

"Please, sir," she insists. She steps into the light now, and ignores his shocked gasp upon seeing her green flesh. "Tell her that an old friend has returned."

He hurriedly ushers her into the foyer and tells her to wait there before he disappears up the stairs. He grimaces as he gently taps on the door to the Lady's chambers. A moment later, a woman's face glares at him through a narrow gap in the door.

"What is it, Puggles?" she asks. "You had better have a good reason for this. You know how she hates to be disturbed."

"My apologies, Miss Murth, but has she not always said that if a green person comes to call that we are to notify her at once?" She pulls the door open a little more.

"What's going on?" calls a voice from inside the room. "Do you realize what time it is?"

"Sorry to disturb you, mum," Puggles raises his voice slightly so that she can hear. "But we've strict orders to inform you of any green visitors, yes?"

Something solid hits the floor of the dark room, hard. Glinda fumbles to the door noisily, knocking over who knows what. She grips Puggles by the arm with surprising strength for one so small. "Go tell her not to leave," she nearly pleads. "Give me five minutes. I'll be right down." Then she disappears behind the door, blonde curls bouncing in her hurry.

Glinda feels a fluttering in her stomach that she hadn't realized she was still capable of feeling. She smiles softly to herself for a brief moment before that feeling is replaced with others. In rapid succession she is hit with confusion, fear and then finally, anger. _Why now? Maybe she's in danger. How dare she wait so long to come back! She could have at least sent word that she was alright!_

Ten minutes later, the Lady of the house glides into the sitting room, where the guest has been asked to wait. She sees the brown eyes on her and feels that fluttering again.

"Well, you've certainly not gotten any better at timing," Elphaba snorts, her eyes meticulously examining every inch of the other woman. Glinda is wrapped tightly in a fluffy pink robe, but that is the only sign that she had been in bed when her guest arrived. Her soft golden curls frame her face beautifully, as always. Her stature seems somehow smaller, or maybe it's just that she hasn't seen her barefoot in so long.

Glinda, having worked herself into somewhat of a fit, huffs as she makes her way to the seat opposite of her visitor, "Better to wait ten minutes than _five years_ , Elphaba Thropp. I've half a mind to throw you out this instant and tell you to come back in five more. Do you have any idea what would happen to us if they find out that you're here?"

"I suppose I deserve that," she frowns. "I'm so sorry, Glin." When Glinda only glares at her she continues, "If you were worried about what would happen to you, your butler would not have been ordered to let me in."

"I didn't order anyone to let you in. I was in my bedroom trying to sleep," she tries to feign innocence, but her voice wavers.

Elphaba gives her a look, letting her know that she isn't fooling anyone. "You did at some point, otherwise I definitely would not have been allowed in the door when he saw my skin. He'd have yelled for help," she finishes a little smugly.

 _Damn her! Always so rational._ She knows she is caught and has to concede. "Fine. Maybe I did give them instructions in case you ever came back." She is met with a smug grin, but raises a hand to stop any reply. "Before we talk about what you're doing here in the middle of the night, I have a question I've been waiting a long time to ask you."

"Alright." Elphaba says the word slowly, as if she is afraid of what that might be, but she nods for Glinda to continue.

"Why?" she asks, voice raw with the emotion behind the loaded question. _Will she even know what I mean?_

 _Well that was blunt._ "I - You know why." She doesn't quite meet Glinda's eyes, afraid that if she does she'll never be able to stop the tears threatening to appear.

The fact that Elphaba clearly knows exactly what she meant floods Glinda with relief. _Maybe this won't be bad. The connection is still here._ "I need to hear you say it," she begs.

"I-" she starts again, nearly choking on the words. "I love you too much to drag you into that mess. You could have been hurt." Her dark eyes lock onto crystal ones for the first time in too long, both pooling in tears. Elphaba lets hers fall, not caring about the burn she feels. _I deserve this._

Glinda loses her resolve, knowing what the tears will do to that verdant skin. She crosses the room and wipes the tears from her friend's face. "Stop that, Elphie." The use of her old nickname only makes the other girl cry harder, leaving a trail of burns down her face. "I mean it. Stop it, this instant! There's something else we need to discuss." Her small hands cup emerald cheeks and she gently runs her thumbs up and down in an effort to calm the woman.

"Just one other thing?" Elphaba finally smirks up at her. She gently presses her sleeves to her face to be rid of the remaining tears. "I feel like we have much to discuss, but I suppose we'll tackle whatever is on your mind first."

"Fiyero," she says simply. Elphaba's brow raises in confusion and surprise. "Oh, don't look at me like that. I knew the moment I ran into him." She has to fight very hard to keep off the grimace that threatens to make an appearance.

Elphaba does nothing to hide her shock, still gaping at the blonde. She finally shakes her head and asks the only thing she can. "You saw Fiyero? When?"

"Uh, a few months ago. Didn't he tell you?" Elphaba's expression tells her that he clearly had not. "Sweet Lurline! I thought that's why you were here."

"Well he is sort of why I'm here. What do you want to know about him? Just 'Fiyero' doesn't tell me what you're asking.

"Do you love him?" her voice trembles as though she is afraid of the answer, but she needs to know.

"I did, I think," she hesitates a moment before adding, "but it was different."

"Did?"

"Oz, Glinda! I thought you were a socialite. Surely word has reached you by now!" Elphaba's face is contorted into an emotion, or maybe an array of emotions, that Glinda has never seen before.

"The rumors are true?" She suddenly remembers what she heard the other day. At the time, she had just brushed it off as if it couldn't have been true, but the look on her friend's face confirms her fear. "Oh, Elphie! I'm sorry!" She finally wraps her arms around the hunched figure on her couch and they are both in tears again.

Neither of them know how long they sit clinging to one another, but after some time, Elphaba finally breaks the silence with a sigh. "There's something else you should know, Glinda."

"What is it?" She strokes silky black hair as she continues to hug this precious woman as close as possible. _Never again. I'll never let her go again._

"I'm carrying his child," she mumbles into Glinda's neck. She hadn't known it was possible to be pulled any closer to the tiny body in front of her, but she feels it along with a quick kiss pressed to her hairline.

"Oh! Elphie! It's going to be ok. We'll figure this out. Together." She presses another kiss close to the dark hair before the other woman pulls back abruptly.

"Glin, what about your husband?"

"Chuffrey?" she scoffs. "Don't you worry, dearest. I know how to handle him." She giggles at the disgusted look she receives and swats a green arm. "Not like _that!_ " You'll understand what I mean when you meet him tomorrow."

The blonde lets out a long yawn and Elphaba releases her completely. She smiles softly when she sees the pout forming on those perfect pink lips at the loss of contact. "Glin, you need to rest. I'll be back tomorrow." She turns to let herself out and is only a little surprised when she feels slender arms wrap around her as the smaller woman nearly tackles her.

"You can't leave, Elphie. It's late and it's not safe for you out there." She turns the green woman around to face her. "I don't even want to think about the kinds of places you've been staying." She grips a verdant hand and practically drags Elphaba up the stairs.

"Glinda, be reasonable!" she protests. "I don't have anything to sleep in and I showed up completely unannounced. You've had no time to get a room prepared for me or anything."

"This is perfectly reasonable. I'm sure I have a spare nightie and you can sleep in my room. Look," she stops in front of her door and spins to face Elphaba once more. "I just got you back. I'm not letting you out of my sight for a very long time."

 _How am I supposed to say no to that?_ She let out a sigh and hugged the smaller woman, relishing the feeling of their bodies still fitting perfectly together. "Alright, my sweet. I'll stay." Glinda practically melts in relief.

"Good. I was willing to put up quite the fight." She lets out a girlish laugh that makes Elphaba smile broadly, then she turns and enters her room in a glide. She stops suddenly, a beautiful shade of pink blushing her cheeks. She had quite forgotten that her staff was not yet dismissed for the night and Miss Murth was seated by the fire knitting. "Miss Murth, you're dismissed for the evening," she squeaks. The older woman arches an eyebrow and looks past Glinda to glare at the stranger. "Oh, stop it Murthy. I'm in no danger here. Elphie won't hurt me."

If Elphaba thought the woman's arched brow was high before, it now disappears into her hairline. "With all due respect, Miss Murth you have my word that no harm will come to her while I'm here. I'd rather die than let anything or anyone hurt her, myself included." Glinda beams at her, and the woman gives them one more suspicious glance then exits the room. "She's protective of you," Elphaba notes. "I like her. I'm glad that someone has been taking care of you."

"Oh, she means well, but she's harmless really. I feel much safer right now." She presses herself into Elphaba's lanky arms. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too, Glin."


	2. Chapter 2 - Plans Made

Chapter 2 - Plans Made

Elphaba wakes the next morning feeling disoriented. _Where am I_? She's just about to leap up when she feels strong, small arms pull her back. _It_ _wasn't a dream. Thank the Unnamed God!_ She sighs in content and allows herself to be held in place smiling broadly.

Glinda grins and mumbles, "Morning Elphie."

"Good morning, Glin. Are you planning on allowing me to get up at any point today?" She only asks in jest, not really caring if she'll be allowed to move or not.

"Mmm," she hums, pulling Elphaba closer again. "Maybe later. That's the most sleep I've had in Lurline knows how long, and I'm comfy."

 _Me too_. "What time is it?" she whispers.

"Well, it's almost eleven."

"Eleven?! Glin, we've slept through breakfast and half the day! If I hadn't thought your staff would wonder about us before, I certainly think they will now!"

"Let them. I don't care. Miss Murth did come to wake us for breakfast, but I told her to get out and not to come back. You clearly needed your rest, and honestly, so did I. I take it you haven't been resting well either?"

"Not for a very long time," she admits. _Not for the last five years actually._

Something in her voice must have told Glinda her unspoken thought. The smaller woman squeezed her lightly and whispered, "It's okay, Elphie. Me either."

A sad smile painted her features for a moment. "Hey. Maybe we should get up? Am I, or am I not supposed to meet this husband of yours today?"

"Sweet Oz!" she yelled as she untangled herself from the emerald woman and leaped from the bed. "I completely forgot. You're right. You'll have to meet him today. He's going to Pertha Hills tomorrow on business and who knows when he'll be back."

Elphaba sat up and watched the blonde bounce across the room to begin her daily routine. _Some things never change_. She smiled to herself.

Glinda suddenly noticed that Elphaba had made no move to begin getting dressed for the day and smacked herself on the forehead. "Oh! Hey, I have something you can wear."

Her eyebrows raised skeptically. "You do?"

The blonde looked back at her, flushing sheepishly. "Well, after you left Shiz, Nessa was just going to have them throw all of your stuff out. I just couldn't let them do that. Your trunk is in my closet. I saved all of your books, and exactly one frock."

"Just one?" She smirked.

"Don't look at me like that. Even that one was only saved for sentiment. You know I always thought they were all hideodeous." She giggled.

"But all of the books are here?" Elphaba sounded surprised.

"Mhmm," she nodded. "I had a feeling you might want them when you came back."

"When?" she questioned.

"Yes, when. I always believed you'd come back, Elphie. That's why my staff had orders on what to do in case you did."

She walked up and wrapped her arms around the small woman. "I'm sorry it took me so long."

She held the verdant arms in place as she whispered, "It's alright. You're here now."

Elphaba placed a kiss to the top of Glinda's hair before releasing her and making her way over to the closet. She immediately saw the old trunk due to the fact that it was the only thing in the space that wasn't brightly colored or sparkling. She slowly lifted the lid and inhaled the scent of old books, one of her favorite smells. The frock that Glinda had saved was neatly folded on top of the pile of books. She recognized it as the one she had been wearing on the night of Dr. Dillamond's murder. _The night that changed everything._ She sighed, grabbing the frock and a bottle of oil to get ready for the day.

Half an hour later, Glinda came out of the washroom and found Elphaba hunched on the bed reading a book. _Some things never change_. She smiled at the thought. "Hey Elphie, could you zip me up?"

She put her book down and crossed the room to oblige. Her breath hitched at the sight of pale skin that showed in the open sliver of the dress.

Glinda shivered when slender fingers ran up her back with the zipper. "Thanks," she breathed out before turning abruptly and walking toward the door. "Well, I guess it's time for you to meet Chuffrey."

They found out from one of the footmen that Master Chuffrey was in his study preparing for his trip. Glinda knocked on the door and a soft voice called out, "Enter."

Lord Chuffrey was an older man, probably in his sixties. He kept his silver hair closely shaved in an attempt to hide just how far it had receded over the years. He was of small build, barely taller than his wife, but he was handsome for his age. When they entered the room he looked up from the papers scattered across his desk. "Darling," he smiled at his wife and turned to the green woman that accompanied her. "Ah, you must be Miss Elphaba. Puggles informed me that we welcomed a visitor late last night."

He held out his hand to her and she shook it firmly. "I do apologize for the intrusion."

"Not to worry," he told her. "Given your situation, I can understand why you wouldn't want to be seen, and I must admit that I appreciate it. We would all be in danger should anyone find out your whereabouts." She nodded. "Now, my lovely wife told me long ago that you may one day show up at our door. May I ask, why now?"

"Yes, of course." She fiddled with her hands as she spoke. "Well, I don't really know how to say this other than to just say it. I'm pregnant, and Glinda here is my only friend. I thought that if anyone could and would help me, that it would be her."

His brow rose. "I see. And the father?"

"He -" her voice cracked. "He was killed by the Gale Force."

"I'm sorry for your loss. What exactly is it that you seek here, Miss Elphaba?"

Glinda finally spoke. "What she is seeking is unimportant Chuffrey. What we're going to offer her is a safe place to stay for as long as she and the baby need."

"Glinda, darling, maybe we should have a private word about this?" He turned back to Elphaba. "Would you mind waiting in the hall?"

She turned to leave, but was stopped when a small hand wrapped around her own. "No. She will not wait in the hall while we discuss her future as if she isn't here."

He looked as though he would argue, but when his eyes landed on the joined hands his face softened. "Alright. What is your plan?"

"I'm glad you asked. As I'm sure you know, the layout of this house is much larger than what actually shows up on the official blueprints." His jaw dropped. "Yes, dear, I know about the secrets of the house, now close your mouth please." She smirked and continued on. "As I'm sure you know, one of the main hidden passages leads from my bedroom into the safe room. What I suggest is that Elphaba sets up her living space there. That way, when we are forced to entertain to keep up our appearances,there will be no sign that anyone else is here. Besides, if the Gale Force comes to investigate, they won't find anything out of the ordinary."

Chuffrey looked down at their intertwined hands once more and he sighed. "That will ruin some of my extracurricular activities, but I must admit that it's a brilliant plan."

She beamed at him and released Elphaba's hand. "Oh, I'm not finished, darling." She moved behind the desk with him then and pulled a roll of paper from one of the drawers. "While looking at those blueprints, I found another inconsistency. One that I'm sure you didn't even know about because you'd have been using it a long time ago." She rolled out the parchment, which turned out to be the blueprint she was referring to.

He looked at her expectantly, and when she didn't continue he let out an exasperated sigh. "Oz, Glinda! Spare me the dramatics. What are you on about?"

"There's another secret passage. One that goes to your chambers. I checked it out myself to make sure I was right. It leads to a hidden door that opens into the gardens." She ran her finger across the page marking the path to show him.

"There is a secret door from the gardens that goes right into my room and I didn't know about it? That would have been useful ages ago." Elphaba looked between the two, clearly confused. He offered her a small smile. "I suppose if you're going to be here for a while there are some things you need to know, my dear."

Glinda joined in his explanation, "You see Elphie, our marriage is far from a conventional one."

"How so?" she questioned.

Glinda looked to Chuffrey and opened her mouth to speak, but he silenced her when he placed a hand on her arm. "I should tell her. It's my secret to tell." She offered him a small nod of encouragement, and he once again turned his attention to Elphaba. "As you can see, I'm not a young man. For much of my life, I avoided marrying. I used my work as an excuse, always claiming that I had no time to properly court a woman. A few years ago a rumor about me started to spread among some of my business partners that I am inclined toward men and that this was the true reason that I never married. I'm sure you can guess what that would do to my business, so I entered into the social scene in the hopes of finding a wife."

He glanced at Glinda and she beamed back at him. "That's where I came in. You know how Momsie has always been. She heard that the _enormously wealthy_ Lord Chuffrey was finally looking to court, and she arranged for us to be at the same party. Poor thing was so nervous that _I_ had to ask _him_ to dance." She giggled.

"I'm so glad you did," he smiled at her. "To make this long story short, I told Glinda that the rumors were true, and I asked her to marry me as more of a business arrangement than anything."

"I agreed, because I wasn't at all interested in any of the suitors that I'd had. So, we're really only married on paper and to the public. The only time we've ever even really kissed other than on the cheek was our wedding day," she admitted.

"Yes, it was terribly awkward," he teased. She smacked his arm playfully. "Truly though, I do not know what I would have done without you."

"What are friends for?"

Elphaba finally spoke up. "You're secret is safe with me Lord Chuffrey. I owe you that for your help." _And for so much more. For Glinda._

"Thank you, and I think since we've crossed the line into personal information, we may drop the honorifics Elphaba."

"Yes, of course," she grinned.

The three spent a small amount of time discussing the details of their plan. There was an extra bed and a small wardrobe in the attic that would be brought down and placed in the safe room for her. Luckily, they already knew that their staff was very discreet, so there would be no need to worry about them.

"So," Glinda started after they had discussed the plans for the household. "Elphie, we'll need to go shopping tomorrow. You're in desperate need of suitable clothing."

"Oh, no. No, no, no." She shook her head. "You are not taking me on one of your shopping sprees. It's not like too many people are going to see me anyway."

" _I'm_ going to see you," she pouted. "And you'll need clothes that you'll be able to wear when you start to show."

As soon as she'd noticed the pout, Elphaba looked at anything but Glinda's face. _How does she do that_? "No, Glinda. I am not going shopping. What if someone sees me?"

"Well, you obviously have a way of hiding otherwise you'd have been caught already." the blonde pointed out.

Elphaba groaned. "I hate shopping. Why don't I give you my measurements and then you can just go buy me all the sparkling, ridiculous dresses that you want?"

Glinda huffed indignantly, but then a slow smile crept onto her face. "Why don't you just come with me, and then I'll take you to a book store afterwards?"

Brown eyes narrowed in suspicion. _Is this a trick?_ She sighed. "You promise we'll make time for the book store?" she asked.

The smaller woman squealed in excitement. "Yes! I promise."

"Fine."


	3. Chapter 3 - Shopping

Chapter 3

AN: Sorry y'all! I know it's been a little while, but I'm not going to abandon this story. I've just had a lot going on in my personal life. Thanks for the reviews, follows and faves! Hope you enjoy! ~ER07

"Elphieeee!" Glinda sang from the other side of the shop.

Elphaba groaned and rolled her eyes. She was slightly frustrated that the blonde had conned her into this shopping excursion. She was covered head-to-toe in black mourning robes, complete with a veil to hide her verdant skin. Therefore, she was hot, uncomfortable and absolutely miserable. Even so, she smiled at the sight of the tiny woman flouncing toward her. "What is it?" she asked.

"I have found the perfect dress for you!" she chimed.

"There is no such thing." Glinda held up the item in question, and her jaw dropped. The dress was full length and a lovely shade of deep purple with sheer sleeves that looked as though they would reach Elphaba's elbows. "Purple? You don't think that will clash with my skin?"

"Not at all," Glinda dismissed the thought with a wave of her hand. "Purple and green are complimentary, you know." She huffed when she only received raised eyebrows in response. "Well, You have to try it on," she insisted as she shoved the other woman toward the dressing room.

Luckily the shop keeper was no where to be seen, because Glinda followed when she pushed her friend into the room. "What are you doing?" Elphaba nearly shrieked.

"Shush or she will hear! I want to see what it looks like and you can't go out there with your skin showing," the blonde whispered.

"Oh, for Oz sake, Glin!"

The smaller woman giggled. _I knew I'd win this one_. "It's just a good thing that I'm in here so often, otherwise she might not have left us alone. Besides, I don't know why you're being so shy. It's not like you have anything that I haven't seen before," she grinned wickedly.

Elphaba blushed. "Well actually, that isn't true." _I am pregnant afterall._ Her hand subconsciously fell to her stomach, which had only just started to grow.

"Sweet Oz! I never thought I'd see this. Elphaba Thropp, self conscious about something _other_ than green skin." When she saw the look on her friend's face she immediately stopped joking. She placed her small hands on each emerald cheek and pulled down lightly so that Elphaba's brown eyes met her blue ones. "Stop it, Elphie. You're being silly. This is perfectly normal. You're supposed to get bigger. That means the little guy is getting bigger and we want him to grow."

Elphaba let out a shaky laugh and started to remove her layers of clothing. "Him, huh? You think the baby is a boy?"

Glinda beamed at her and turned her around so that she could zip the dress. "Let's call it a hunch, but I think so. If it'll make you feel better we can call the baby something else for now. I just refuse to call him or her, 'it.'"

"Yes, let's not. We'll think of something." Glinda gasped just then. "What?" Elphaba replied.

"Elphie, look up."

When she did so and saw her reflection, she gasped and took a step back. "Glin, it's -"

"Absolutely perfect, like I said," she grinned.

"It is beautiful," she agreed. "But where in Oz would I ever wear it? It's not exactly like I can go to parties with you. The entire Gale Force is probably looking for me." _Not that I really mind not having to go to any social gatherings._

"It doesn't matter where you wear it. I love it, you love it. We're buying it," she stated as she unzipped the dress, and tried to ignore the shiver she felt.

Elphaba sighed and started putting her layers back on. "There's no use in arguing with you, is there?"

"Nope."

They ended up buying a few dresses for Elphaba and some trousers as well. They also bought two more dresses for Glinda, not that she needed any. She worried that the shopkeeper would become suspicious if she didn't buy anything for herself.

A little while later, they were sitting in a small cafe, halfway through their lunch when Elphaba caught the most wonderful scent she thought she'd ever smelled. "What is _that?"_ she asked to no one in particular. "It smells amazing."

"Elphie, hunny, are you feeling okay?" Glinda asked. "That smell is meat, beef to be exact. Pretty sure it's a hamburger."

Elphaba's face paled. She hadn't eaten meat in years, not since she had been brave enough to tell her father, Frex that she thought it was wrong to kill any defenseless creature. Usually, the smell made her slightly sick. "What the hell?"

Glinda laughed when she realized what was happening. "I don't think your little critter is a vegetarian," she grinned.

Her green nose wrinkled in disgust. "Little parasite, you mean! I hate to break it to the little beast, but we will _not_ be having any of that."

"It's only going to get worse if you don't give in to it."

" _Not_ happening," Elphaba insisted.

"Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you," Glinda shrugged.

After lunch, the two women headed to a home improvement store. They had looked at the safe room the night before. Glinda had insisted that it was in need of major redecorating, not to mention the fact that she was dying to remodel her own room. She thought that remodeling hers would be a good way to hide the fact that were actually redecorating a hidden room. Elphaba suspected that her want to recreate her own space was the real reason behind her insistance on decorating a room that no one was ever going to see, but she didn't say so. What was the use? She knew Glinda well enough to know that she would never have won that argument. _Pick your battles._

She looked up at the building as they approached and tried to stifle her laugh, but she ended up snorting.

"What's so funny?" Glinda questioned.

"It's a bit cliche, isn't it?" Elphaba replied, pointing to the fading letters that read **THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME**.

"Maybe, but this place is amazing." She offered Elphaba her arm. "Shall we?"

"If we must," she grinned behind her veil and linked her her arm with the one offered.

Glinda headed straight for the paint section. "So, what color do you think we should paint the rooms?" she asked, as she started flipping through a fan deck, immediately going for the shades of pink.

"Well, you can skip the pinks," Elphaba said. "You know I'm not really a fan."

Glinda pouted and bumped her hip into the other woman. "But I thought we'd determined that pink goes good with green."

"We did, but that doesn't mean I want the room I'm going to be spending a lot of time in to be pink."

"Elphie, my room is pink and you've been spending time just fine in there."

"All the more reason to change it up. You've had pink for Ozma knows how long. Why not go for something different?"

"What about yellow?" she asked as she flipped to the next section.

A green nose wrinkled in disgust. "The yellow brick road provides all of Oz with quite enough of that color, I think."

Glinda laughed, "Fair enough. I'm thinking it's safe for me to assume that you're also dead set against green." She automatically passed all of those as well.

"What about a nice, light blue?" Elphaba asked when she realized that it was the next color in the fan. "Blue is calming and peaceful."

"It is," Glinda replied. "Think we can find a shade that we both like?"

The other woman nodded. _We've found ways to agree on far more important issues_. "Surely we can agree on something as simple as a color." They searched for a few minutes and eventually agreed on a shade labeled as Sky Blue. "See? That was easy. What's next?"

"Flooring," Glinda answered. "Hardwood or carpet?"

"We should probably pick a carpet. It'll muffle the sound of my footsteps when I have to hide."

"Good thinking." The blonde then lead her across the store to where the carpets were located. It didn't take them long to find one that they both liked and that matched the paint they picked out as well.

"Hey Glin," Elphaba started hesitantly. _Oz. I hate asking for anything else._

"Hmm?"

"That room looked a little dark for me to read in. I was wondering-"

"Lamps," Glinda cut her off and nodded, taking off for another section of the store.

By the time they left the store, they had purchased enough paint for both rooms, enough carpet for both rooms, a few lamps to light the safe room, a desk, five new bed sets, a liner for Elphaba's bed to make it more comfortable for her, and new curtains for Glinda's room.

"Thank you for doing business with us, Lady Chuffrey. Your purchases will be delivered in about three days," the clerk told her.

"Thank you," she told him. As they left she grinned at her friend. "Looks like you'll be stuck in my pink room for a few more days, Elphie."

 _I could think of worse fates._ "Great," she replied, trying to sound like her typical sarcastic self, but the bite just wouldn't come out. She ended up sounding rather happy instead and she couldn't help but think that it probably had something to do with the wide smile hiding behind her veil.

They finally made their way to the bookstore as Glinda had promised. She let Elphaba browse around for a couple of hours, but at that point the boredom took over.

She looked over and saw at least a dozen books in the green girl's arms. She sighed as she spoke up, "Elphie, are you almost finished?"

She let out a short laugh. "Aww. Has the princess finally reached her limit?" she teased.

Glinda huffed, "That's not funny."

Elphaba laughed again, not quite her signature cackle, but close. "It is, but yes, I'm almost finished. I just have to narrow this down."

"Nope. We're done. We'll buy them all and that's final." She gave the other woman no opportunity to argue as she grabbed half of the books and Elphaba's arm and dragged her to the checkout.

Elphaba would never admit to her, but she actually enjoyed spending her entire day shopping with her best friend.


End file.
